Hesder committee head decries army insubordination

JERUSALEM (JTA) — The head of the committee of hesder yeshivas told a government official he does not support insubordination in Israel’s military.

Rabbi Haim Druckman, the head of the association of yeshivas in which Jewish men combine religious studies and army service, met Wednesday with the director-general of the Prime Minister’s Office, Eyal Gabai, and agreed to publish a clarification of his stance on the issue, according to reports.

Druckman wrote recently in a pamphlet distributed to synagogues that it was forbidden for soldiers to evacuate settlements or enforce the 10-month construction freeze called by the Netanyahu government.

In the meeting, Druckman clarified that he would not advise his students to refuse orders while serving in the army. He said, however, that a soldier should be able to be relieved of carrying out a task that goes against his conscience or beliefs, and that this was not disobedience.